photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas second baseman Dariel Osoria looks to make a play during the Jayhawks' NCAA tournament game against Arkansas on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.

The absence of Cade Baldridge from Kansas’ lineup for the first time all season — in a season that has now stretched to 61 games — was far from a certainty until mere minutes before first pitch against Arkansas on Sunday night, as Baldridge was dealing with an injury.

That meant that both Dariel Osoria and Max Soliz Jr. had limited time to prepare for new roles.

For Osoria, it meant playing second base, a position he had worked on throughout the offseason and occupied early in the year before leaving the lineup amid a slump, then returning to it as a designated hitter. As teammate and fellow middle infielder Tyson LeBlanc said later, he hadn’t played defense “in forever.”

“He takes ground balls there every day and has worked every single day like he’s going to go out there and start,” KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “So I didn’t even think to talk to him about it. I just posted the lineup.”

For Soliz, it meant sliding into the DH spot with just five at-bats to his name since mid-April — in the context of a high-pressure game against his former school.

“I actually told Max about 10 minutes before the game, said, ‘Hey, if Cade can’t go, you’re DHing,’ and he was super confident,” Fitzgerald said.

Both players ended up playing integral roles in a historic 13-10 victory over the Razorbacks at Hoglund Ballpark that earned KU a spot in the super regionals.

Osoria, a senior from the Bronx, was one of the top hitters on KU’s 2025 team but hasn’t managed quite the same level of consistency in 2026.

“He just shows up every day and works and it hasn’t always been easy,” Fitzgerald said.

He has, however, proven capable of exploding for massive offensive performances, and on Sunday, he certainly rose to the occasion with his third four-hit game of the season, one that included two doubles as well as a solo shot off the fearsome Ethan McElvain that broke the seal for the Jayhawks after they had fallen behind 5-0. As Fitzgerald said, they certainly needed it.

“That dude’s a warrior,” LeBlanc said. “We’ve been saying it all year, he’s one of the best hitters to come through here, and he showed up when the stage was the biggest. He picked us up tonight, especially with Baldridge out. He stepped up.”

Just as impressive as his offensive production, and perhaps less predictable, was his defensive confidence. Fitzgerald cited one point at which Osoria “barked at” teammate Josh Dykhoff for going after a ball between first and second base and told him in the dugout, “You cover first, I’ve got that,” “which I thought was just unbelievable confidence. He’s just such a pro, and he cares at such a high level.”

LeBlanc had another example in mind, apparently referencing when Osoria charged in and slung an off-balance throw to Dykhoff to strand a pair of runners in the bottom of fifth inning.

“I don’t know if y’all remember the play to get us out of the inning at second base — that was huge,” LeBlanc said.

As for Soliz, he went 1-for-5, but his hit came in the first at-bat for Arkansas reliever Cole Gibler, driving in Dylan Schlotterback amid KU’s pivotal six-run fourth inning and setting the tone for the rest of what was to come.

Fitzgerald had promised prior to the regional that Soliz would appear at some point in the days ahead, and the former Razorback did indeed get his moment.

“What a stud,” Fitzgerald said. “I was so proud of Max tonight … I thought he had great at-bats all night. The base hit was huge, and he just battled through it. I mean, he had five at-bats tonight and four of them were outstanding.”

For the record, it certainly didn’t sound postgame like either player will be counted upon in their capacities from Sunday for an extended period. Baldridge, who has started in center field and at second base this year and is one of KU’s leaders in batting average, is dealing with an “upper-body” injury, but he probably could have played in the regional final, Fitzgerald said.

“I almost put him in in the seventh,” Fitzgerald said, “and then when we extended the lead, that was a hard one, because that’s like an incredible offensive player, defensive player, baserunner, glue guy, and so to have him out today was tough. Obviously the right decision, because we won, and now he’s got some more time to rest.”

BRIDGING THE GAP

KU got one more pivotal performance from something of an unheralded player on Sunday, that being right-hander Manning West. His three innings of one-run ball on a night when nearly every pitcher ran into issues gave KU the time it needed to rally past Arkansas, especially after Fitzgerald had a quick hook for starter Mathis Nayral and reliever Toby Scheidt struggled.

“Fitz actually challenged the pitchers for one person, one guy to step up into the moment, and he gave us the zeroes we need for our offense to catch back up,” LeBlanc said.

West, a redshirt junior from Winder, Georgia, started games when he arrived at KU but quickly developed into one of the Jayhawks’ quietly reliable bullpen arms. They have often held him for the later stages of weekend series, as when he pitched a scoreless frame in the Big 12 championship against West Virginia, and did the same in the Lawrence Regional.

His three innings on Sunday matched his longest outing of the year. Fitzgerald said that KU wanted a pitcher to provide a bridge from the early innings to the expected late-inning appearances of righties Riane Ritter and Boede Rahe, both of whom were ready to go on Sunday after pitching on Saturday.

“No shock out of Manning, you know,” left fielder Brady Ballinger said. “He’s been there before, he’s come in big games before, he’s pitched big innings for us. When I saw him come out, (I had) so much confidence in him.”